Workers seek damages from Metro Water Reclamation District after explosion at Calumet plant

Two workers allege they were injured from an explosion that occurred while they were working at a sewage treatment plant in Chicago.

William T. Kissane and William L. Ruiz filed a complaint on Sept. 18 in Cook County Circuit Court against the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and Independent Mechanical Industries Inc., alleging construction negligence and premises liability.

According to the complaint, the plaintiffs are employees of Amalgamated Services Inc. and were working on the defendants’ Calumet Water Reclamation Plant in Chicago on Aug. 30. They allege while they were working, they were “subject to a violent explosive and concussive force” that caused them injury, the suit states.

The plaintiffs alleges the defendants failed to require the concentrator building be properly ventilated, failed to provide adequate monitoring equipment for detecting and warning of the presence of explosive gases, failed to properly inspect and monitor the work area, and failed to provide plaintiffs with a safe place to work.

The plaintiffs request a trial by jury and seek judgment against defendants for an amount in excess of jurisdictional limits, plus costs of suit.

This article was first published by Cook County Record.

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